Conveying mechanism for foundry plants



Feb. 8, 1944. WHITTAKER 2,340,916

CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR FOUNDRY PLANTS Original Filed July 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

INVENTJOR.

E. dwar 1:1 H. \Nh-iffaker' ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 8, 1944.

E. H. WHITTAKER CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR FOUNDRY PLANTS Original Filed July 9, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 2 FEGQQ.

J 17 [g 13 l"! &

INVENTOR.

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' ATTORNEYS Feb. 8, 1944. E. H. WHITTAKER 2,349,915

' CONVEYING IVUEXCIIAIIISM FOR FOUNDRY PLANTS Original Filed July 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 El dward H. Whifiaker ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 8, 1944 CONVEYZNG MECHANI PLAN SM FOR FOUNDRY TS Edward H. Whittaker, Jersey Cit-y, N. J.

Original application July 9, 1941, Serial No.

Divided and this application September 9, 1942, Serial N0. 457,764

4 Claims.

This invention relates to conveying mechanism and more particularly to traveling cranes which may be employed, for example, in foundry plants, and this application is a division of an application for United States patent on Foundry plants, filed by me July 9, 1941, Serial Number 481,651.

An important object of the invention is to provide an overhead traveling crane which can be used to place flask sections, quickly and conveniently, in a molding machine and remove the'flask sections and molds therefrom.

Another importat object is to provide a mechanism of this kind, which may be employed with a molding machine of considerable height, making necessary to have the crane straddle, so to speak, the molding machine.

Still another object is to provide, in a traveling crane a predetermined distance from the molding machine for moving flank sections and molds horizontally from between portions of the machine, where the space between the portions of the machine is relatively narrow.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent in the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which drawings Fig. l is an end elevation of two of the novel cranes and of a molding machine, showing one of the cranes, in dot and dashes, intersected by the horizontal plane of one side face of the molding machine.

-Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the crane, and of a molding machine.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of portions of the; crane, with portions of a hoist operating means in horizontal section.

' Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the crane.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view of a rotary valve, preferably employed with the hoist operating means of Figs. 3 and 4.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A may be used to designate an overhead track; B, a flask; C a flask charging and molding machine; and D, the novel crane.

The overhead track A is provided with rails 'Ill and may be supported, as by columns H.

-A flask B, is shown, including a cope section I5 and a drag section I6, each section l5 and. [6 being provided, at their nds, with outwardly extending trunnions ll.

The flask charging and molding machine C may include an upper, combined hopper, measurer and distributing portion 2|], a lower combined tamping and leveling section 2% telescop-' ing therewith, so that the section 2! may be raised and lowered, but not moved horizontally, and a combined pattern carrier, flask centering and stripping section 22, below the section- 2|, and having a bed plate 23, which may be raised and lowered by a jack 24 suitably secured to a floor or support.

The novel overhead traveling crane D comprises a frame 26, preferably C-shaped in plan, including a cross beam 2'! and paralleling arms 28 extending from the end portions of the cross beam 2i, and trolleys 29, running on the rails Hi of the overheadtrack A,'and supporting the frame 265 beneath this track.

Hoists 36, carried by the crane 25, each comprise a cable 3!, trained about a pulley wheel 32, rotatably supported at an end of one of the arms 28, and rotatable in a vertical plane, and also about a pulley wheel 33, rotatably supported near the juncture of this arm 28 and the cross beam 27, this pulley wheel 33 being rotatable in a horizontal plane. The free depending end portion of the cable 36, which drops from the pulley wheel 32, may be provided with means for connection with the trunnionsof a flask, such means, in the example shown, being a ring 34, while the other end portion of the cable is connected to means to for operating the hoists. It is understood that at least two hoists 30 are preferably carried by each crane 25, to operate in unison and that these hoists have their rings 34 located beneath the ends of arms 28, where the rings may be conveniently connected to the trunnion ll of flask sections, since the crane is so constructed as to straddle equipment within its horizontal plane, such as the molding machine C illustrated, when it is in a position to place empty sections of flask B on the bed plate 23 of the flask charging and molding machine C, or remove sections'of flasks B and molds therein, from the machine C. The novel crane D is particularly well adapted for use with a flask charging and molding machine, of

There is a cylinder 4| and associated parts for each hoist 30, the cable 3| of the particular hoist being connected to one end of the piston rod 43, as at 41. The manually controlled means 46 comprises a rotary three-way valve 48, preferably located on the crane D, a flexible pipe 49 connecting the valve 48 to a supply pipe line 50, a. pipe line for supplying fluid under pressure to the end 52 of chamber 53 in each of the cylinders 4|, a pipe line 54 for supplying fluid under pressure to the end 55 of the chamber 53 in each of the cylinders 4|, and a discharge port 56 for discharge of fluid under pressure in either end of the cylinders. A suitable operating handle for the valve 48 may be provided, preferably operated by a workman riding the crane. If desired, each means 46 may include a counterweight 51 on the free end 58 of a cable 59 trained over a pulley wheel 66 supported on the crane D and rotatable in a vertical plane, the other end of the cable 59 being connected to the end of piston rod 43 as at 6|, opposite the end where the hoist cable 3| is connected as at 4'1. The counterweight 51 and associated parts, substantially either may balance the weight of the ring 34 or may be made heavier so as to counterbalance the weight of the section of flask B when the latter is supported by th hoist 30.

Means 65 for normally withdrawing the crane D a predetermined distance from the vicinity of its respective machine may be used either to assist in quickly moving the crane D a predetermined distance away from the molding machine C, when it has been used to deliver flasks B thereto, or when it has been used to lift a flask section and mold therein from the machine C, clear of the pattern. The means 65 comprises a weight 66 on the depending end 61 of a predetermined length of cable 68 trained about a vertically pivoted pulley wheel 69 carried by a column II, the other end portion of the cable 68 being connected to an arm H on the crane D. If desired the crane D for servicing the machine C may carry a tray 12 as by hanger 13 for furnishing sand and equipment for cleaning and dusting the pattern, The crane for servicing the machine C as well as a mold storage and conditioning station, if desired, may carry a tray or box 14, as by hanger 15, for accessories used in temporarily holding cores, etc., in place and for equipment used in forming gates in molds. A workman, pushing or pulling upon either hanger I3 or may counteract the pull of the weights 66 and move the crane.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the novel crane is especially adapted for use with machines of considerable height and which are, as a whole, fixed as to position, where the crane must move to a position so that the horizontal plane of an end or side face of the machine will intersect the hoisting means of the crane, and where an object such as a flask section and mold, must be engaged at opposite ends or sides by portions of the crane, and moved, in horizontal and vertical planes, without any appreciable tipping of the object.

Lowering of the bed plate 23 by the jack 24 of the molding machine 0 and raising of the telescoping section 2| thereof, provides a relatively narrow space, but suflicient to enable either of the cranes D to move a section (cope or drag) of a flask B horizontally from a position to one side of the machine C to a position between the top of the bed plate 23 and bottom of section 2| and lower it upon the bed plate for charging and tamping. Upon separation of th section 2| from the charged section of the flask B and lowering of the jack, one of the cranes D may raise the flask section and move it horizontally to a position to one side of the machine C.

I claim:

1. In conveying mechanism for molding flasks provided with outwardly extending trunnions, a portion of said mechanism being adapted to straddle a molding machine, the combination of an overhead traveling crane including a frame of substantially C-shaped formation providing two spaced-apart, paralleling, cable-supporting arms, adapted to extend across opposite sides of a molding machine, two hoists, each including a cable, carried by said frame, with a cable of the hoist depending from the free end of each arm of the frame, means on the depending end of each cable for detachably engaging a trunnion of the flask, means for operating said hoists simultaneously, and means for moving said crane towards and away from said molding machine.

2. In mechanism for conveying flasks to and from a molding machine, the combination of a traveling crane movable in a substantially horizontal plane intersecting the vertical axis of the molding machine, said crane including a frame of substantially C-shaped formation, the arms of which parallel each other and extend laterally of the molding machine when the crane is adjacent the same, two hoists each including a cable, carried by said frame with a cable of the hoists depending from the free end of each arm of the frame, means on the depending end of each cable for detachably engaging the flask, and means for operating said hoists simultaneously,

3. In mechanism for conveying flasks to and from a molding machine, the combination of a traveling crane movable in a substantially horizontal plane intersecting the vertical axis of the molding machine, said crane including a frame of substantially C-shaped formation, the arms of which extend laterally of the molding machine when the crane is adjacent the same, separate hoist means operatively connected with each arm of said frame; means carried by said hoist means for detachably engaging the flask, means for operating each of said separate hoist means simultaneously, and weight means for normally withdrawing the crane from the vicinity of said molding machine.

4. In mechanism for conveying flasks, having oppositely disposed, outwardly projecting trunnions, to and from a narrow space between an upwardly extending tamping section and a vertically reciprocating bed plate of a molding machine, the combination of a travelling crane'movable in a substantially horizontal plane intersecting the vertical axis of said molding machine,

said crane including a frame of substantially C-shaped formation, the arms of which extend laterally of the molding machine when the crane is adjacent the same, two hoists each including a cable, carried by and with one end depending from each arm of said frame, a ring, on the depending end of each cable, of a diameter sufficient to encircle a trunnion of said flask, means for operating said hoists simultaneously, and means for operating said crane to move a flask, carried by said hoists, in a horizontal plane from between said tamping section and said bed plate to a position at one side and clearof said molding machine.

EDWARD H. WHITTAKER. 

